(deeper, deepest)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
If something is deep, it extends a long way down from the ground or from the top surface of something.
The water is very deep and mysterious-looking...
Den had dug a deep hole in the centre of the garden...
Kelly swore quietly, looking at the deep cut on his left hand.
...a deep ravine.
? shallow
ADJ
•
Deep is also an adverb.
Deep in the earth's crust the rock may be subjected to temperatures high enough to melt it...
Gingerly, she put her hand in deeper, to the bottom.
ADV: ADV prep/adv, ADV after v
• deeply
There isn't time to dig deeply and put in manure or compost...
ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj/-ed
2.
A deep container, such as a cupboard, extends or measures a long distance from front to back.
The wardrobe was very deep.
ADJ
3.
You use deep to talk or ask about how much something measures from the surface to the bottom, or from front to back.
I found myself in water only three feet deep...
The mud is ankle deep around Shush Square...
How deep did the snow get?
ADJ: amount ADJ, n ADJ, how ADJ, as ADJ as, ADJ-compar than
•
Deep is also a combining form.
...an inch-deep stab wound.
COMB in ADJ
4.
Deep in an area means a long way inside it.
They were now deep inside rebel territory.
ADV: ADV prep/adv, ADV after v
5.
If you say that things or people are two, three, or four deep, you mean that there are two, three, or four rows or layers of them there.
A crowd three deep seemed paralysed by the images on these monitors...
ADV: num ADV
6.
You use deep to emphasize the seriousness, strength, importance, or degree of something.
I had a deep admiration for Sartre...
He wants to express his deep sympathy to the family.
= profound
ADJ: usu ADJ n [emphasis]
• deeply
Our meetings and conversations left me deeply depressed...
= profoundly
ADV
7.
If you experience or feel something deep inside you or deep down, you feel it very strongly even though you do not necessarily show it.
Deep down, she supported her husband's involvement in the organization.
ADV: ADV prep/adv, ADV with cl
8.
If you are in a deep sleep, you are sleeping peacefully and it is difficult to wake you.
Una soon fell into a deep sleep.
? light
ADJ: ADJ n
• deeply
She slept deeply but woke early.
ADV: ADV after v
9.
If you are deep in thought or deep in conversation, you are concentrating very hard on what you are thinking or saying and are not aware of the things that are happening around you.
Abby had been so deep in thought that she had walked past her aunt's car without even seeing it...
ADJ: v-link ADJ in n
10.
A deep breath or sigh uses or fills the whole of your lungs.
Cal took a long, deep breath, struggling to control his own emotions...
ADJ: ADJ n
• deeply
She sighed deeply and covered her face with her hands.
ADV: ADV after v
11.
You use deep to describe colours that are strong and fairly dark.
The sky was deep blue and starry...
? pale
COMB in COLOUR
•
Deep is also an adjective.
...deep colours.
? pale
ADJ: usu ADJ n
12.
A deep sound is low in pitch.
His voice was deep and mellow...
They heard a deep, distant roar.
? high
ADJ
13.
If you describe someone as deep, you mean that they are quiet and reserved in a way that makes you think that they have good qualities such as intelligence or determination.
James is a very deep individual...
? shallow
ADJ
14.
If you describe something such as a problem or a piece of writing as deep, you mean that it is important, serious, or complicated.
They're written as adventure stories. They're not intended to be deep.
ADJ
15.
If you are deep in debt, you have a lot of debts.
He is so deep in debt and desperate for money that he's apparently willing to say anything...
ADV: ADV in/into n
• deeply
Because of her medical and her legal bills, she is now penniless and deeply in debt.
ADV: ADV in/into n
16.
If you know something deep down or deep down inside, you know that it is true, but you are not always conscious of it or willing to admit it to yourself.
We knew deep down that we could do it...
Deep down, we had always detested each other.
PHRASE: PHR after v, PHR with cl
17.
If you say that you took a deep breath before doing something dangerous or frightening, you mean that you tried to make yourself feel strong and confident.
I took a deep breath and went in.
PHRASE: V inflects
18.
If you say that something goes deep or runs deep, you mean that it is very serious or strong and is hard to change.
His anger and anguish clearly went deep...
PHRASE: V inflects
19.
in at the deep end: see
end